You probably know that carbonated drinks are fizzy because of their CO2 content, and that it's released when you open a bottle or can. What you may not know is exactly how that process works, and why the glass you drink from plays a role in how long your drink is fizzy. This video explains it all.

The video is from the team at America's Test Kitchen, and is part of their Science of Good Cooking series (incidentally, also related to their book of the same name). The first half of the video explains how carbonation works, and why the temperature of your drink matters when it comes to how well carbonated you can get a drink to be if you're making your own seltzer water or homemade soda. The second half goes into why the glass you use matters when it comes to how fizzy your drink is over the long haul.

Long story short, tall, narrow glasses will keep you drinks fizzier longer than wide-mouthed ones, like the coupe glass in the video, or even a wide mouthed mug for your beer or soda. Surface area for the CO2 to escape is certainly one factor, but nucleation is another, and the taller the glass, the more nucleation points you'll likely have over a shorter one just by virtue of the surface area of the interior glass. He even does an experiment with a lava rock and a ball bearing that's worth checking out. Hit the video to see the full explanation, or click below to see it at YouTube.